Yesterday I had a very enjoyable day in Fredericton. Fredericton holds a special place in my heart and I always look forward to time spent there. I lived in Fredericton from age seven to eleven. Anyone who knows me at all has heard me talk about 619 Regent St.That address has found it’s way into two of my books.In fact Fredericton is the setting of “The Sewing Basket” which comes out in May and my main character lives where else but 619 Regent St.In 1976 I went to Fredericton to attend St. Thomas University and remember those days as a student in Fredericton very fondly.I started my Fredericton day by meeting with Joan Clark who is spending this year in NB as UNB’s Writer in Residence. She generously gave up her morning to share her wisdom , experience and perspective. I came away from that meeting with some of my questions answered and a good feeling about the trajectory of my writing career.What a wonderful example she is for other authors.I spent the afternoon in Sara Belong’s classroom at George St. Middle School. I would love to list the names of all the seventeen students I met and could probably remember most of them but I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out so I won’t try. Each one of them was delightful and welcomed me with such enthusiasm. When you hear a boy exclaim that he will buy every book I write it makes me very happy even though I imagine he will soon forget his claim. Then there was the thrilling comment I received when after reading just a short passage from Ten Thousand Truths ,Chantay remarked that it made her think of Anne of Green Gables. That is the best compliment I could ever get about that book.I spent two hours reading from my three books, sharing some of my favourite books and authors and having the kids do some writing. I ran out of time and was very disappointed when the bell rang . They presented me a gift of appreciation , a few pictures were taken ,I hurriedly signed bookmarks and said goodbye.I look forward to visiting there again next year. Thank you Ms. Belong.
